Hi all

chronyx

Bit of an introduction as I'm a new member, and a mixed bag of questions!

I'm 23, I have a Specialised Hard Rock that is 2 years old and has done 1700 miles.

What is the life span of this type bike? It cost around £200 which is considered disposable apparently. :shock: It is starting to feel a bit tired and I wouldn't mind treating myself to a proper road bike and using the Specialised just for MTB.

Is this bike up to it? The frame is certainly very sturdy.

Finally I'm interested in these hybrid/city bikes. Are they suitable for long distances? I would like to be able to use my bike as a practical mode of transport as well as for leisure, so it needs to be comfortable, well equipped, reliable, and easier to hold at speed than a fat-tyred mountain bike.

What sort of budget should I be aiming for?

Look forward to your posts!

DavidTQ

I wouldnt recommend a hybrid for long journeys unless you are planning on using a lot of roughish tracks, Hybrids are a half way house between mtb and road, normally doing neither overly well, but faster on the road than mtb and more sturdy than a road bike off road.

If your route is all on the road you want a road bike of some form.

For comfort from a road bike I can highly recommend the Giant SCR range of bikes, theyve got all the mounts for panniers and guards as well, they are decently fast, well built with decent components for the money, I find my Giant SCR more comfortable than my hybrid. The carbon forks and comfort frame really work well together, and the wide range of hand position available on drop bars makes for good wrist comfort as well.

I think really for a long term bike you want to be looking at £500 minimum for a new bike, or look at the secondhand market far better to buy a year old decent bike than a brand new low end bike. Theres normally plenty of peoples good intentions out there going for a song .

Its possible in places to find the SCR 1.0 (top of the range £850 rrp) new for around £500 if you hunt around.

Before you make any decisions though you need to do some test rides. Find out what works for you and what doesnt.

chronyx

Very good advice there, thank you - I'd never buy a brand new car but for some reason hadn't thought of a second hand bike. :?

£500 is a reasonable amount, you know what they say, "buy cheap buy twice".

Theres normally plenty of peoples good intentions out there going for a song

Well put!

I should probably add that I'm 6 feet tall and weigh around 13 stone if that helps with any ideas people may have.

A - W

£500 is a fair amount.

You need to have a decide what type of bike your after.

Road/Hybrid/MTB.

Then I am sure people will suggest their personal favorites which you should go have a look at and try to find out what fits you best.

chronyx

If a hybrid isn't that great then I would say road, but not a race bike, just something I can use everyday that's comfortable and reliable.

What sort of speeds can you guys 'cruise' at anyway?

Normally around 14 - 17mph for me on my Specialised. Is 20mph a realistic speed to sustain?

Adamskii

Yes, 20mph and above is realistically acheivable on the flat. As an average overall speed 17-18mph is quiet possible on most road bikes. Even on a 12.5 kg, 501 winter rider!

chronyx

Excellent

Am I right in thinking that shortly into the new year once the Christmas gifts and New years resolutions are gathering dust will be a good time to hit eBay>

Bassjunkieuk

welcome to the forums cronyx!

I to have recently been looking into getting my first "decent" bike and set my budget at £500 after looking around at local bikeshops and online and deciding that it seems to be a good starting point.

I can't really offer much advice on bike type as I haven't had much experience with hybrids but I have been riding around on a rather dated Raleigh racer, having said that in the 1700+ miles (I'm sure my cycle comp got reset before!) I've covered on it it's been a joy - I even kept up with a guy on a £1400 bike on the Bikeathon this year :-)

One bit of advice tho, coming from riding a MTB myself it did take a while for my hands to get used to the new postion on the road bars, but once I got used to it I think I can actually filter in traffic better on my road bike now!

If you are looking for a new bike I'd recommend looking online as most of the bike retailers online appear to be able to do the bikes a good deal cheaper then the RRP - I managed to get a Giant SCR 3.0 2007 for £319.99 from www.ashcycles.com - it has since gone up a tenner. It only arrived today but I'll let you know what I think after I've had a chance to test it!

flattythehurdler

A fixie for commuting is the absolute business.

chronyx

Sorry, don't know what a fixie is!

Bass Junkie, how is the riding position different compared with an MTB?

Thanks

magicroundabout

Hey Chronyx, and welcome.

It all really depends on what sort of riding you want to do. I started riding on a cheap hybrid for my commute - it gets me from A to B and has all the panier racks and stuff I need.

However, as I started getting fitter and riding more, I decided to get a road bike. I had the road/mountain bike dilemma but I was spending far longer on the road than off road and so it made sense for me to buy a half-decent road bike for recreational/training rides.

Ideally I'd have three bikes - a hybrid for commuting, a road bike for distance/speed on the roads and a mountain bike for offroading. As it is, the bikes I have meet my main purposes for riding.

Keep us posted - will be interesting to hear what you decide on.

MR

Gambatte

Chronyx, don't worry about 'fixies', they're a wierd beardy, sandal wearing sub group

Mettan

chronyx wrote:

If a hybrid isn't that great then I would say road, but not a race bike, just something I can use everyday that's comfortable and reliable.

As mentioned, the Giant SCR range is well worth looking into - however, if you don't want a full-on drop bar roadie, how about a flat-bar "road bike" - couple of possibilities:

Claude Butler Levante 2007

http://www.holcroscycles.com/productdet ... ante-(2007).html

Genesis Day 2007

http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=70422

chronyx

Thanks Mettan, I'll check those out.

chronyx

I really am getting tempted by an SCR after reading reviews.

Is an owner local to Surrey willing to let me have a test ride?

Random Vince

the hardrock is a brilliant bike to use as a mountain bike, its intended as an off roader

used mine for jumping and dowhnill until i came off, it took a 7ft drop on its own and bent itself on the rocks at the bottom

over a period of 4 years my hardrock ended up with nothing but the stem, frame, brakes, saddle and seat post being origional,

the universal answer to "what mountain bike as a starter?" or "what mountain bike for £300?" on any mountain biking forum i've looked on is the best hardrock you can afford.

go ride it, if it breaks then upgrade the part

chronyx

Thanks Vince - that's what I think I'm going to do - get an SCR or other road bike and then replace the forks as I was advised on here ASAP then the bars, wheels, etc on the Specialized as and when I can afford it!

delcol

i to am a keen mtber and have 2 mtbs

used to use my hard tail to commute on then decided to get a road bike to a speed me up and b make life easier.

i looked at all sorts of road bike in the end i opted for a scott speedster s60 fb.

fb being flat bar had 15 months now and love it i can and do easy reach 30 mph and average 18 20 mph over my 6 mile commute..

i picked up a 06 model in october 06 for rrp£400 paid£339..

Gambatte

Had to read that twice.

Thought you said

"rrp £400 paid £399"